Reuters says 44 members of Congress are asking U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to restore trade concessions to India.
They say the U.S. withdrawal of that trade privilege has led to retaliatory tariffs, which hurt the U.S. ag industry.
India is California’s 7th largest farm product export market.
Back in June, the United States ended its preferential trade treatment for India.
The Generalized System of Preferences Program allowed India to send up to $5.6 billion worth of imports into the United States duty-free. India retaliated with higher tariffs on 28 U.S. products, including almonds, apples, and walnuts.
The letter from the U.S. lawmakers to Lighthizer says a lot of American jobs depend on trade between India and the United States.
After President Trump decided to remove India from trade privileges, American and Indian trade negotiators met in July.
However, neither side made much progress on the issue of tariffs and other protectionist measures imposed by each side.
The U.S. and India resumed trade talks after meetings on the sidelines of the G20 summit in June and agreed to take steps to deepen the two countries’ relationship.
